read with hunger, write with joy, live with passion

Promise to the Fallen

Darkness devours the sun; the sky throws down A rain of stones, a snow of ash and pain. Two mountains fall that were a city’s crown; And fire devours the star of empire’s reign. Heroes leap in — this is a hero’s place — Bring light to darkness, free the trapped and lost, Move on with name unknown and unseen face, And in a moment’s horror pay the cost. In smoke and fires of hell the brave maintain The search, the fight, the war for others’ sons And their own lost, caught in this new-born plain; Scarred earth ungraciously gives back those it has won.

We hold you in our hearts, we will not let Your faces fade; and we will not forget.

In the first week following the September 11 terrorist attacks, I couldn’t write. I spent the week torn between tears and murderous rage. I did some posts in the community, but there was no fiction inside of me.

At the end of that week, Lazette Gifford posted a call for memorial material for the next issue of Vision — and I decided to do a poem. As has happened before in my life (see And life, well-lived, will weep, also available here in Short Stuff), poetry brought me through a dark place and out the other side. After I finished this poem, I could move on and get back to writing fiction again.

Whether you're a reader or a writer, you want what YOU want, and not everything else.
So start out by selecting only the subjects that interest you (either with a normal email or through a role-playing adventure game). And live YOUR adventure.